This is how much poorer you are: Incomes fell 8.5% since 2010
By Phoebe Cooke
The average salary is down 8.5% in real terms since 2010, according to new figures released by trade unions.
The TUC analysis of average annual earnings and inflation figures between March 2010 and 2013 suggested a fall in earnings of £2,234.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show the consumer price index (CPI) and retail price index (RPI) fell from March to April this year, but TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said prices had nevertheless risen three times faster than wages.
"Average pay packets have fallen by nearly ten per cent over the last three years – eroding the spending power of households and eating away at the value of savings for those families still fortunate enough to have them," he said.
The secretary general also criticised the government's "self-defeating austerity programme":
"It has added to this pressure on family budgets, with cuts to tax credits, a freeze in child benefit and a VAT hike," he added.
O'Grady said higher salaries would help boost consumer spending and prompt an economic recovery.
